Denver, CO: Lawmakers have passed legislation regulating the state’s medical cannabis dispensaries. The legislation, House Bill 1284, now awaits final approval from Democrat Gov. William Ritter, who is expected to sign the measure into law.
The proposed law would require medical marijuana dispensing facilities to obtain state and local licensing approval and be in compliance with all local zoning codes. Under the regulations, dispensaries must pay a state licensing fee, shall be located no closer than 1,000 feet from a school or daycare (municipalities have the authority to issue exemptions to this rule), and operators must oversee the cultivation at least 70 percent of the marijuana dispensed at the center.
The forthcoming law also imposes a statewide moratorium on the establishment of new dispensaries, beginning in July. Licensed dispensary owners would also have to undergo criminal background checks by the state.
In addition, local municipalities will possess the authority to prohibit the establishment of dispensaries in their community though legal experts expect this provision to be challenged in court. Individual caregivers would be legally permitted to provide medical cannabis for up to five patients in localities that have formally banned dispensaries.
Lawmakers have estimated that the implementation of the new regulations will lead to the closure of approximately one-half of the estimated 1,100 facilities presently operating in the state.
Separate legislation approved by lawmakers, Senate Bill 109, limits the authority of physicians to recommend cannabis therapy to patients with which the doctor has had a prior counseling relationship.
In 2000, 54 percent of Colorado voters in decided in favor of a ballot initiative legalizing the physician-approved use of cannabis as a medical therapy. However, that measure did not outline regulations governing the establishment of facilities to dispense cannabis to authorized patients.
According to a Rasmussen telephone poll of likely voters released this week, Coloradoans now back the legalizing and regulating the adult recreational use of marijuana by a margin of 49 percent to 39 percent, with 13 percent still undecided.
For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500.